Posting in an epic thread
From Encyclopedia Dramatica
Posting in an epic thread is one way a newfag can cling onto Internet fame like a flea on a dog corpse rotting in a New York City gutter unhosed since the late 1990s - and last just as long. The basic formula for determining the power of one's PIAET to claim Internet fame can be expressed as:
POWER = ET/(NO`U+FAG)
Where: ET = Epicness of the Thread
NO'U = Number Of Users also posting on the thread
FAG = How much the post is a Failed Attention Grab
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Epic Thread
A thread becomes epic when it gets attention for being the crème de la crème of its class, or when its OP has done something lulzy, probably involving a felony. Examples of an epic thread include Ohbutyouwillpet's last LiveJournal entry, rockonlittleone's last Xanga entry, and Freewebspace.net's example of epic fail at being epic, thus contradictorily producing reverse epicity. These threads are usually memed to infinity by all manner of mudkipping and shoopery, thus attracting users to the original thread for maximum gawkage and Internet detective roleplay.
Users
Users notice that an epic thread is open for moar posting, and proceed to add their own contribution. Common Internet sense dictates that, much like touching a moonrock or inserting your penis in famous whores, leaving your mark on an epic thread does nothing for your own inferior status. For some users, this does not matter, because posting in an epic thread that's been memed is itself a meme, a meta-meme, or not a meme and is its own reward. For many, many others, this is the chance to shine and be counted.
The Post
Early comments in an epic thread after the cause célèbre is Party V& typically include denunciations of their being a sick fuck and expressed desires for them to enjoy new experiences. However, posts made with the sole intention of being part of an epic thread come later, and can either be hilarious or, more often, fail. Mitigating factors, even for posts of otherwise high concentrations of lulz, include the time between the OP's thread initiation and the post, the number of other contributing users in the thread, and the epicness of the thread itself. A quick PIAET made in an epic thread involving a murderer or pedo with the right blend of lulz-drama and posted just before the gates close and cut off your competition, preferably with undisclosed inside information as a gag inserted in, would be most optimal according to the formula. But you'll probably just fag it up with scrolling text years after it happened. And that's why you can pass it off as a meme today.
See Also
